Donate, swap and repair items
How to repair items that no longer work, donate things to charity, or swap items with other people.
Donate and swap
- Find your nearest textile recycling site or book a collection service.
- Use reuse and swapping sites such as Freegle, Freecycle or Olio.
- Donate to your nearest charity shop.
- Arrange a free collection or drop off unwanted electrical items.
- Use our collection service to donate your unwanted household and electrical items.
Repair items
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Repair items rather than replace. Contact a local repair service if you have a broken electrical item that is too difficult for you to repair.
- Learn how to fix and repair broken items. Have a look at this beginners' guide to fixing your broken things.
- Come to events where you can reuse and repair your items.
Shop responsibly
- Buy items second hand, like electronics from CeX or books, clothes and other items from charity shops.
- Don’t buy single use plastics like water bottles or use plastic bags. Use reusable alternatives instead. Use the Refill app to find places where you can reuse and refill, and the USELESS map to find places to buy plastic-free items.
- Borrow items that you rarely use (like DIY or gardening tools) from the Library of Things rather than buy them. And of course, you can borrow books from your local library.
- Avoid buying fast fashion. Fast fashion is the mass production of cheap, low quality, disposable clothing. Think about buying quality items and repairing them instead.
- Put an end to junk mail to stop paper from being wasted – register with the Mail Preference Service.
- Choose reusable nappies and use our £70 voucher through Real Nappies for London.
- Save on your food bill and cut down on food waste with tips from Love Food Hate Waste and Eat Like a Londoner. Help the planet.
- Consider buying less meat, which has a larger carbon footprint per calorie than grain or vegetable products. Switching to less carbon intensive meats such as chicken instead of beef can make a difference too.
- When you need to buy new things, consider ones that have been produced in a circular economy way.
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